DRC’s Legal Alert Special: Issue 117| July 2025
1. A pilot project on the provision of basic social assistance has been launched
On 1 July 2025, the implementation of a pilot project to provide basic social assistance to certain vulnerable groups of the population began. Thus, the Cabinet of Ministers Decree №371 of 25 March 20251 , stipulates that the project will be implemented in two stages:
⮚ From 1 July 2025, for current recipients of various types of social assistance (in particular, assistance to low-income families; child benefits for single mothers; benefits for children raised in large families; etc) ;
⮚ From 1 October 2025, other families that meet the means-tested criteria will be able to join the programme.
The Basic social assistance is pilot programme of financial support for low-income families that starts in July 2025 and will last until July 2027.
While many social benefits are based on the subsistence minimum2, the basic social assistance is calculated based on the basic value of UAH 4,500.
! Please note: While the subsistence minimum is reviewed annually, Decree №371 does not include a procedure for adjusting the basic amount of social assistance. This creates a risk that the basic assistance may fall below the subsistence minimum over time.
The basic social assistance per family is calculated individually for each family. In this case, a family is defined as people who live together, are connected by a common household, and have mutual rights and obligations. A single person is also considered a family.
Important! The family does not include:
● people who are fully supported by the state (for example, living in geriatric institutions);
● people who are in captivity and deprived of their personal freedom by the authorities of the aggressor state;
● people who are considered missing by a court decision or have the legal status of missing persons under special circumstances;
● people who are abroad.
The formula for calculating basic social assistance takes into account:
● the number of family members and their age;
● the level of family income.
The basic amount is UAH 4,500 (100%) and is determined as a percentage for each family member:
Example of calculation for a family of four. Providing a comparison of the amount of basic social assistance with assistance to low-income families:
The amount of basic social assistance is determined as the difference between the total amount of the basic amount for each family member and the average monthly total family income:
𝑈𝐴𝐻 14,535 − 𝑈𝐴𝐻 7,020 = 𝑈𝐴𝐻 7,15
So, the family in this case can count on financial assistance in the amount of UAH 7,515.
! Please note: State social assistance to low-income families is defined as the difference between the subsistence minimum for a family and its average monthly total income. Thus, when receiving low-income assistance, a family could expect to receive a payment in the amount of:
UAH 9,711 - UAH 7,020 = UAH 2,691
Payment procedure. Basic social assistance is assigned to a family and paid to the family's authorised representative for six months with automatic prolongation for the next six months. In addition, it is possible to distribute the payment in equal instalments (rounded to the nearest whole number greater than the calculated amount) to each adult family member at their request.
The basic social assistance payment can be applied for at the Pension Fund's service centres or online through the Diia web portal. The application is submitted in two stages:
! Please note: the application is not processed if there is no consent to the processing of personal data of at least one adult family member for whom the basic social assistance is calculated.
Signing the application for appointment means that each family member agrees to:
1. termination of the previously paid types of social assistance (in particular, state social assistance to lowincome families; child benefit for single mothers; assistance to large families; temporary allowance to children whose parents evade child support, are unable to support the child or whose place of residence is unknown; state social assistance to persons not entitled to a pension and people with disabilities)
2. automatic extension of basic social assistance payments for the next period.
! Please note: Access barriers for people with limited mobility, including the elderly, remain unaddressed. To receive basic social assistance, individuals must either visit a Pension Fund service centre or, for online applications, all adult family members must have a smartphone with the Diia.Signature function. However, due to widespread digital illiteracy, online applications are not a viable option for many elderly households.
The basic social assistance is granted based on the results of verification of data in state registers. It also envisages that verification of incomes and assets will be done regularly. At the same time, in case when some data are inaccessible through registers, there is a possibility for persons to provide additional supporting documents that will prove eligibility for basic social assistance.
Termination or suspension of the payment of basic social assistance is possible:
✔ at the request of the family's authorised representative;
✔ in case of death of the authorised family representative;
✔ in case the basic social assistance or other social assistance has already been granted to family members;
✔ if the authorised representative of the family or family members submitted inaccurate information or concealed information that affected the establishment of the right to receive basic social assistance and the determination of its amount.
! Please note: the termination/suspension of the payment of basic social assistance in case of the death of an authorised person may result in other deepened vulnerability of other family members. Because the family, experiencing the loss of a family member, is simultaneously left without social benefits and is forced to take steps to reappoint or resume payments. At the same time, the legislation provides for automatic recalculation of the amount of payments in case of changes in the number of family members.
The application for termination of the basic social assistance payment is submitted at the choice of the authorised family representative in person to the Pension Fund of Ukraine or in electronic form in the "Diia" app. At the same time, similar to the application for appointment, the application for termination of payments must also be signed by each adult family member.
Appeal procedure. The decision to provide/deny basic social assistance may be appealed to the National Social Service, the Pension Fund of Ukraine or an administrative court.
1 Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/371-2025-%D0%BF#Text
2 The subsistence minimum is determined by the normative method per month per person and is approved in the State Budget Law for the respective year.
3 These figures are defined in the Law on the State Budget for 2025, ref: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4059-20#Text
4 State social assistance to persons not entitled to a pension and people with disabilities will not be included in the average monthly total family income in this case.
2. The Pension Fund becomes responsible for the provision of social assistance
On 11 June 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Decree № 695, simplifying the administration of various types of social assistance provided for by Ukrainian law, transferring some of the functions of granting and paying state social assistance from social security authorities to the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU).
Thus, in addition to the types of social assistance already available through the Pension Fund, in particular, on the Pension Fund's portal, namely:
● Subsidies and privileges for housing and utilities.
● Subsidy for rent.
● Cash payments for the Independence Day.
● Cash payments to certain categories of citizens.
● Compensation for the costs of accommodation of IDPs (Prykhystok).
● Provision of social care services at home.
Starting from 1 July 2025, the Pension Fund will also officially assign and pay:
● state social assistance to peoplevnot entitled to a pension;
● social assistance to people with disabilities;
● social assistance for care;
● social assistance to people with disabilities from childhood and children with disabilities;
● burial assistance.
The Pension Fund provides more opportunities to apply, with more than 500 service centres across Ukraine. Thus, it will be possible to submit an application and documents
o In person - at any service centre of the Pension Fund of Ukraine, regardless of the place of registration;
o via postal services - to the address of the relevant body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine;
o through an authorised person of the executive body of the local council;
o through an administrative service centre;
o online - through the web portal of electronic services of the Pension Fund of Ukraine or the Pension Fund application (after 1 September 2025).
Please note: a new application form for state social assistance to people who are not entitled to a pension and people with disabilities, state social assistance for care, state social assistance to people with disabilities since childhood and children with disabilities, and burial assistance was also approved.5
Physical identification. An important innovation in this context was the introduction of physical identification of social assistance recipients. Thus, starting from 7 March 2022, the Government automatically extended the payment of social assistance to persons not entitled to a pension and people with disabilities, state social assistance for care, state social assistance to people with disabilities from childhood and children with disabilities living in areas experiencing active hostilities or in the occupied territories. Given that there is no access to the occupied territories and the access to the areas experiencing active hostilities is significantly limited, such payments were automatically continued in the same amount as previously granted and without verification.
After 1 July 2025, the Pension Fund will be obliged to conduct physical identification of such social assistance recipients. Back in 2023, the Pension Fund resumed physical identification of pension recipients, making it more accessible through video identification. Just like the physical identification of pensioners, the identification of social assistance recipients can be carried out:
⮚ Via video conferencing.
⮚ By authorisation in a personal electronic account on the web portal of the Pension Fund of Ukraine using "Diia.Signature".
⮚ For people residing abroad, by certifying the fact that the person is alive by a foreign diplomatic institution of Ukraine.
Important: if the identification is not completed by 1 October 2025, payments of the relevant state social assistance will not be made. In case of identification, payments will continue from the moment of suspension, i.e., the funds will not be lost.
5 The application is available at the following link: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/file/text/127/f545807n365.docx
This Legal Alert was produced under the project funded by the European Union through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
Some of the terminology used in this issue of the Legal Alert was taken from draft laws or current legislation. The contents of this brochure are the sole responsibility of the author/authors. The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the European Union or the Danish Refugee Council (DRC). Neither the European Commission nor the DRC is responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
